Wildcats can’t shake slow start

The University of New Hampshire hockey team played from behind for all but 38 seconds of Saturday night’s game at No. 12 Rensselaer.

The No. 13 Wildcats trailed 4-0 before scoring twice in the second period to slice the deficit in half, but could get no closer in an eventual 4-2 loss.

The setback extended UNH’s winless streak to four games (0-3-1) after a season-opening win against Clarkson.

“We didn’t come out in the first period very well,” said senior captain Eric Knodel. “We weren’t making good decisions with the puck. We were trying to make the fancy play instead of the smart play, and it cost us.”

The Wildcats have scored only seven goals in the last four games against nationally ranked opponents, and no more than two in any one game.

Despite the loss of 15-goal scorers Austin Block and John Henrion from a year ago, the Wildcats felt they had enough depth up front this season to compensate.

So far that hasn’t shown up.

“Down 4-0 midway through the second period is pretty close to impossible to come back,” Knodel said. “We had few offensive chances to that point. It’s good we turned it around a little bit, but the hole was too deep at that point.”

It doesn’t figure to get any easier as the Wildcats begin league play next weekend with a home-and-home series against defending Hockey East champion UMass-Lowell.

“When you’re having trouble scoring your defensive play has to be the most important thing,” Knodel said, “and we didn’t play as well as we needed to. We’ve all gone through stretches where you can’t buy a goal, so you have to find other ways to win.”

The River Hawks were one of the stingiest defensive teams in the country last season while reaching the Frozen Four, and are coming off a 2-1 win Saturday at No. 4 Michigan.

The Wildcats managed only a tie against the Wolverines in a recent two-game series at the Whittemore Center.

“We’re looking forward to this weekend,” Knodel said. “It’s another week where we have to prove ourselves. I doubt anyone in the college hockey world is taking us too seriously right now.”

Starting with next Friday’s game at UMass-Lowell, UNH will play eight of its next nine games against Hockey East opponents, including five on the road.

Down 2-0 after the first period Saturday against RPI, the Wildcats surrendered two more goals in the first four minutes of the second.

“I’m not quite sure why we came out so flat,” Knodel said. “They came out with a lot of energy. Their rink was rocking. They beat us in the corners. They won a lot of one-on-one battles.”

Starting goalie Jeff Wyer was pulled after giving up four goals on 18 shots.

UNH scored twice on goals by Jeff Silengo and Matt Willows less than two minutes apart midway through the second period to close within 4-2, but couldn’t catch up despite outshooting the Engineers 11-1 in the third period.

“It was a shot to our confidence after this weekend,” Knodel said. “No one really likes losing and we didn’t produce. We’ve got to get back to a style of play where we grind out games and play defensive. We’ve got to slowly rebuild our confidence and get back to where we normally are.”